Principal  Message

Book Week Parade 

Monday’s Book Week Parade was a wonderful way to celebrate books, reading and the characters and stories that capture our imaginations. It was fantastic to see such an incredible array of costumes across the school. We had everything from much-loved picture book characters and superheroes to wizards, villains, sporting heroes and some wonderfully creative costumes that had clearly involved plenty of imagination and effort at home.

A big thank you to our families for getting behind the day. We know that Book Week costumes can involve some last-minute creativity in busy households, and we appreciate the effort that goes into making the parade such a colourful and enjoyable event. Most importantly, thank you to our students for their enthusiasm and energy on the morning. Book Week at WPS is always a highlight of the year and we seem to get get more and more participation each year. It was also nice to see our Grade 5/6 students getting into the spirit and fun.

New Website

I am in the final stages of building anew Warrandyte Primary School website, which has been long overdue for an upgrade. The new website has been designed to better reflect who we are as a school today and, importantly, to make it much easier for families to find the information they need. While school websites are often designed primarily for prospective families, I have made a conscious effort to ensure ours will also be a useful resource for our existing parent community.

The new site will bring together information about our learning and wellbeing approaches, specialist programs, School Council and community involvement, OSHC, uniforms, policies, enrolment and transition, as well as practical information and links families regularly need. It has also been an opportunity to update a lot of information that had accumulated across the old website over many years and present it in a much clearer and more accessible way.

We are now completing the final checks and preparing to move our existing school web address across to the new site soon. I will let families know as soon as it goes live.

2027 Prep Transition

The last 2027 Prep transition session for Term 3 will be next Friday, 29th August. Based on the current enrolment numbers we will be running two classes in Prep next year. If you haven't enrolled your child, yet, you can complete the process online on the Insight Platform. The link can be found on the website. Alternatively paper copies are available at the front office. We are very excited to be running 2 classes again as our growth continues.

New School Uniform Policy – Full Implementation from Term 4

Following consultation with our school community and approval by School Council, Warrandyte Primary School has adopted its updated Student Dress Code Policy. The policy aims to strengthen our sense of belonging and school identity while ensuring students are dressed safely, appropriately and equitably for school.

From the beginning of Term 4, we will move to full implementation of the dress code. Importantly, families do not need to purchase only WPS-branded clothing. The everyday uniform provides affordable flexibility:

• Red on top – WPS uniform tops or a plain red T-shirt, polo or jumper.
• Navy on the bottom – plain navy shorts, pants, skort, netball skirt or leggings.
• The red and white school dress and navy pinafore remain options.
• Navy puffer jackets or vests may be worn in colder weather.
• Runners/sneakers or black school shoes with white, navy or black socks/tights.
• A navy broad-brimmed or legionnaire SunSmart hat is required during the designated SunSmart period. A navy beanie can be worn in the colder months.

The policy also establishes a clear exemption process. Families can apply where religious, cultural, disability, health or financial circumstances require a modification to the dress code. We will work with families to find a reasonable arrangement that meets the student's needs while maintaining the intent of our school dress code wherever possible.

Our parent-run Uniform Shop is open Tuesdays from 9:00–9:30am, with online ordering through Flexischools and second-hand uniform options also available. Transfers with the school logo will also be available if you want to purchase a plain coloured cotton top and prefer your child to have a logo. Families experiencing financial difficulty are encouraged to contact the school so we can discuss available support.

Thank you to the parents, students, staff and School Council members who contributed to the consultation and development of the new policy. The teachers will be explictly addressing 

Important Safety Message about playground 

Recently, we discovered a substantial bike ramp that had been built without permission over several large rocks and beside a metal electrical metal box. The location and construction of the ramp created a significant risk of serious injury to anyone attempting to use it. We have also had several incidents involving students being hurt and disagreements and fights arising around this activity.

The ramp has now been dismantled. However, yesterday a group of Year 3–6 students were using the remaining area to perform running jumps over the rocks. While no bikes were involved, this still presented a serious and unnecessary safety risk as well as disregard for staff instructions.

Warrandyte Primary School has always had a strong culture of children being outdoors, active and adventurous. This is something we value. As a mother, I have raised my own boys with a love of sport and the outdoors in Warrandyte, and I understand the attraction of building ramps, riding bikes and testing yourself physically. Being adventurous is not the issue but rather where and how that adventure takes place. In a school setting, we are required to take a more safety-focused approach. Schools owe students a duty of care to take reasonable steps to protect them from reasonably foreseeable risks of injury, and our decisions about activities and the use of school grounds must reflect that responsibility. 

A school playground is not an appropriate place for students to independently construct bike ramps or jumps. We have 205 children of different ages and abilities sharing the grounds, and structures built without approval have not been designed, located or assessed for safety. What might look exciting to an older child can present a significant hazard to a younger student who follows their example. This is what we are beginning to see with younger students moving large rocks around or digging into garden banks that then require repairs as the earth and retaining walls move as a result.

We have therefore made it clear to students that:

• Bike ramps, jumps or similar structures must not be built on school grounds without school approval.
• Students must not reconstruct, modify or use dismantled structures as jumps.
• Rocks, timber, equipment or other materials around the grounds must not be moved to create ramps or obstacles.
• Students are expected to follow staff directions and established playground boundaries and rules.

• Deliberately engaging in unsafe behaviour after being directed to stop will be addressed through our usual behaviour processes.

   

I would appreciate families discussing this with your child/ren, particularly the importance of making safe choices even when an activity looks exciting or when friends are participating.  We want our students climbing, running, playing, exploring and enjoying our outdoor environment. We also have a responsibility to ensure that adventurous play occurs within reasonable boundaries so that all children can use our school grounds safely. I thank you for your support with this important message.

Have a great weekend.

Nieta